dfrost01 Loc: Princeton, NJ

I will be traveling to Africa for 4 weeks and I need to be able to charge more than one battery at a time. I have Sony mirrorless cameras, and they do not make a dual wall charger. They caution against using third-party chargers (which I would expect). Have also read some horror stories from people who have not used the authentic Sony charger. Am wondering what to do. Should I just bring two chargers or is there a really reliable third-party dual charger out there? Would appreciate your comments and experiences. Thanks.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Do you remove the battery and place it in a charger, or connect a cable to the camera from a wall wort and charge it that way?

dfrost01 Loc: Princeton, NJ

I want to remove it and place it in the wall charger.

ozdude Loc: Brisbane Australia

I have 3, 3rd party chargers for the Sony batteries including a dual model I bought at ebay. All work fine.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I bought chargers for a Sony WX9 and a RX100 - no problems. Sony can be fussy about what they want you to use. Now they are saying that using any apps but those supplied by Sony could damage the camera and will void the warranty.

muggins88 Loc: Inverness, Florida

I use a Watson charger and have not had any problems. I also use Watson batteries with no problem. The chargers are very light weight.

Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH

If you do decide to go with an after market charger, buy it early enough to test it, and still have time to return it, just in case it doesn't work.

I mention this, because as a Canon user, I tried 3 different brands of after market chargers last winter, and all 3 failed to charge my Canon battery and an after market battery. I ended up returning all of them, and ordering a charger directly from Canon.

In my case, it wasn't a second charger that I was looking for, I had to replace my primary charger that had inadvertently been shipped back with a rental camera, and the rental company lost it.

There have been suggestions of brands that work for the Sony batteries, if you decide to go with an after market charger, instead of a Sony charger, stick with brands that work. In fact, try to obtain the exact model numbers for those after market chargers that do work.

Fleckjohn65 Loc: Ajax Ontario Canada

I take a three foot extension cord that has an end that can accommodate two chargers. Make sure though that you have a plug converter with you too. Not sure about Africa but need same in Europe. Enjoy!

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Many of the 3rd party chargers work fine. I too wanted a dual type for a bit more speed. Unfortunately a month after buying it, one half failed. Pretry cheap.

A large majority of lithium camera batteries are the same voltage. Only about a half dozen different total.

They just designed a base for two single units and for the same voltage to save money. Then the base unit has a receptor that accepts two of the same style batteries.

Unfortunately I have two voltages for my two dslr's but I could have used one for the same camera's two batteries since I use a battery grip.

When the upper part of one side failed a month later, I fixed it and wrote the seller. I doubt the seller knew anything about electricity except how to turn a house light switch on and off.

A few weeks later the base section fail. Vaguely knowing the insides, I did not want to spend the time searching for the bad component. They were mass produced components that did not have any type of tolerances marked at all. That means a capacitor or resistor could be 20 or more percent difference than another just like them. Like I said, cheap!

So now I have a dual charger unit that only works on one side and for one battery only.

Keep in mind that the dual chargers are cheap! That means, on a good unit that charges two batteries I doubt you'll have both charged at the same capacity. If it keeps working, I doubt you'll have troubles with batteries though.

One good thing, it does have a pretty blue led instead of the traditional red/green on most other chargers. LoL

bettis1 Loc: Texas

This is good advice. If you were taking an overnight trip there might be a reason to save a little on a 3rd party charger but it is hard to justify when you are investing in a once in a lifetime trip to Africa. Had you rather be able to charge two batteries at once with a charger that might fail and leave you without any power at all or a single charger that was completely trustworthy? Take two Sonys and a dual outlet plug and have a great trip!

Bob

James R. Kyle Loc: Saint Louis, Missouri (A Suburb of Ferguson)

Check this out....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281891518078?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=580867593340&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

I have one of those for Nikon, works perfectly and a lot more compact than the official Nikon charger.

Jerry M

Over the years, I have used both original equipment and the off brands and the only one I ever had fail was a Nikon OEM for my D810. First time I have ever had a problem with a charger. I was in the middle of China and had to husband my two partially charged batteries until I got to Shanghai and found a replacement. I won't go anywhere again without two chargers--just like i wouldn't go without extra batteries. I have had good luck with off-brand chargers.

Also, make sure you understand the difference between a voltage converter and a simple plug adapter. Most chargers can do the voltage conversion but not all. And I have now gotten a converter that also have USB ports for flexibility and convenience.

Hope you have a fabulous trip.

kayakbob Loc: Placerville, CA

You might want to check Pearstone Dual Compact Battery Charger to see if they support your battery size. I bought one with the Canon LP 6 Battery Plate Adapters about 4 years ago and it is still working fine. It is rated for Input 100 - 120 VAC, 12 - 24 VDC, Output 1.2 -8.4 VDC 2Amp max. It also has a USB 5VDC 2 Amp max port.
If I remember correctly, I bought it from B & H for around $50.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Yes, I know that you've probably heard this before but, you do get what you pay for. Is saving a few bucks on a battery charger worth ruining your trip? My advice, just but another Sony battery charger. Problem solved! Best of luck!